Armadale Book the last - Chapter II

In which Mr. Midwinter returns unexpectedly to England, driven by anxiety about his wife's sudden silence, and encounters the steward Mr. Bashwood, whose shock upon hearing her name as Mrs. Armadale hints at a tangled secret. The meeting culminates in a tense and painful confrontation with his wife, whose denial of their marriage captures the sombre essence of a mystery unravelling under the veil of night.